I Had A Dream
by Fabrayic Style
Summary: Quinn and Rachel grew up together in the Cheerios, aka a group of trained killers and torturers threatening to take over the world. Rachel has left them and switched to the good side while Quinn remained with Sue.
1. Chapter 1

"Rachel" Quinn whispered, staring at the back of her lover, wanting so badly to run her finger tips over the smooth skin on her shoulder blades like she had million times before.

She admired the way the light reflected over the blonde's pale skin, the moon so bright in the sky it lit the entire campsite. Rachel didn't respond to her.

"I've missed you." she said gently, hoping to get at least a grunt or movement from her ex(?)-lover. She knew Rachel wasn't asleep, she never slept after they spent the night together unless she was curled up against her, head on Quinn's chest and arm wound around her waist.

"You're usually not one for poor bedside manners..." this time the blonde brushed her nose along the base of the brunette's neck. She inhaled her sweet but oddly musky scent, like wild flowers and tree sap. It was intoxicating and heart-warming.

Quinn had never felt lonelier in her entire life.

Rachel sat up, never turning to look at her last night's companion. "We need to get moving." Quinn looked down at the ground as she too sat up, feeling her heart drop to her stomach. "We find what we've been looking for and we bring it back to Noah and then-"

"Then you leave with Puck, Mike, and Brittany...and I never see you again."

"Yes."

"But what if it didn't have to be this way?" they both stood at the same time, Rachel turning to face Quinn, confusion and curiosity twisting her features. "You could come back with me, Rach. We could be together, fight at each other's side like we used to. Together we were once unstoppable," the blonde purred softly "we could be again." she cupped Rachel's cheek gently "I've missed you so much, Rachel." she breathed, running her thumb along her cheek bone. "and, even though you'd never say it out loud, I know you've missed me too."

Rachel stared straight into the stormy hazel eyes of the woman she'd grown up with, the woman who knew her better than she knew herself and felt a swell of adoration squeezed her chest. She had missed Quinn, more than she thought she could ever miss or long for anything, let alone another human being. The thought of being with Quinn again was far more than irresistible. And yet, feeling herself slipping away into the thunderous irises before her, she placed her hand over Quinn's on her cheek and held it tightly, pulling it from her face. She intertwined their fingers, never breaking eye contact but pulling out of the storm.

"You're on the wrong side, Quinn" she muttered more harshly than she'd meant to "I've seen the light, Puck, Mike, and Brittany have opened my eyes to what the world can be for me, what I can have if I want it. But you..." she saw the hurt already surfacing in the blonde's body language. Rachel squeezed her hands, trying to get her to understand. "Coach Sylvester has you blindfolded in the shadows, Quinn. She wants nothing for you but to turn you into a mindless killer. It is a waste of a brilliant mind and a beautiful soul."

"A beautiful soul." she scoffed, turning her head from Rachel. "They took that from us long ago, even I know better than to think I have any good left in me."

"I can see it in you Quinn, I can feel it in your touch," this time it was Rachel's turn to hold Quinn's cheek in her hand an try too sooth away the doubts and sway her opinions. "Soulless things don't love, Quinn, not the way I know you do." Rachel turned to look at Quinn, her eye glistening. The brunette kissed her forehead gently, using both hands to gently guide her face down to lip level and planting a small butterfly light kiss on her nose and then her lips.

"So what am I supposed to do, Rachel? Run from the only thing I've ever known?"

"You come with me."

Quinn's eyes widened. "What?"

"Come with us, help us defeat Sue and the evil in this world. Get out of the Cheerios while you still can. Be with me, Quinn. Like you said, we were unstoppable once, but this time we can be the heroes, not the villains." Quinn bowed her head, gently gripping Rachel's forearms with her hands. If only it were that simple. If only she could walk away from her life and start anew with these people, with her love. It was against everything she'd been taught to fall in love. To have feelings that gave you a weakness, a soft spot. She couldn't just throw away an entire lifetime of strict obedience.

"I don't know how to be the hero" she admitted, feeling something weigh down the black hole that'd been her heart for many years. Shame? Guilt? Regret? Quinn couldn't tell what emotions had begun to stir with in her "I don't think I _am_ good anymore..." She shook her head hard but didn't resist the brunette's arms pulling her into an embrace.

It didn't last long.

Quinn pushed Rachel away and closed her eyes, turning her head in the opposite direction, trying desperately to hide the tears that were beginning to force their way from her eyes. "Leaving Coach Sylvester and fighting against her are two completely separate, yet equally difficult things." she said after a long moment of silence. "Things that we aren't all lucky enough to accomplish." she turned back to look at the brunette, her signature neutral expression masking any emotions. "But if you were to run with me...if you were to leave this whole thing behind with me, I'd leave right this second."

"Quinn..."

"I mean it Rach, you are the only person who I am more loyal to than Coach Sylvester" she slowly lowered herself to one knee, planting a small kiss on the knuckle of her ring finger, like she was in the presence of a queen. "I would follow you to the ends of this world, through the fires of hell and back. I would give my life to you if you wished it from me. Anything for you, Rachel." she whispered softly "Everything I have is, and always has been, yours."

They stood there silently for what had to be the hundredth time that night. Rachel's knuckles pressed tenderly to the smooth skin on Quinn's forehead. She stood after a moment, dropping the hand with a stern, determined look in her eyes.

"I can't fight against the woman who I've sworn to serve. But if you come with me, we can start our lives anew in a land where no one knows us. Where we can be just Quinn and Rachel."

The brunette blinked once before turning away.

"No." she said evenly. Overwhelming despair tore its way through Quinn's heart. "Just as you have sworn your life to me, I have sworn mine to Puck and his cause. I won't abandon them now. Not when they need me the most." She turned back to Quinn, her own kind of pain shone in her eyes. She fixed the slightly off pieces of the brunette's attire.

" I wish you'd come with us, fight with me again. Next time we meet, I may have to kill you."

"Is it that easy for you to take my life?"

"Nothing is to interfere with my mission, not even you."

Quinn stepped away from the blonde as she reached to straighten a buckle on the front of her outfit, a look of pure betrayal and agony shone in her eyes. "You best wake Mike, the sooner we find what we came here for, the sooner you'll be rid of me." with that she turned away from Rachel, already heading away into the woods.

Rachel didn't try to stop her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Quinn**

The plan to capture Rachel worked better than I could've dreamt. I convinced her to take a short walk with me before she had to go back to her little group of rebels. A way for both of us to say goodbye without admitting it was just that, our weaknesses for one another showing.

She didn't know a group of cheerios was waiting for us just a few feet ahead of us, hidden behind the tall trees of the forest. It didn't take much effort for them to disarm and immobilize her. My plan had worked perfectly.

So why was it that I felt so ridden with guilt? With shame? She easily resisted the pain Coach Sylvester inflicted upon her, giving her a taunting smile in place of the anguish she desperately wanted to see.

I've known Rachel for as long as I can remember, the unaffected look on her face was a mask that was just barely holding its place. I found myself wincing as I watched through a crack in the door as Coach Sylvester smacked her bare flesh with the back of her hand harshly, the sound echoing off form the walls. I watched her muscles tense against her will as the impact wracked her weak looking body. This had been going on for hours.

I shoved the door open, unable to stand one more moment of doing nothing while the woman I loved was being beaten like a dog.

"Coach," I interrupted her mid-swing, making her hit weak and feeble. She looked over at me, her eyes filled with impatience and frustration.

"You must be exhausted."

I resisted the urge to look over at the small brunette who was strung up by her wrists, feet dangling from the floor, one of her eyes red and swollen with a fat lip.

I felt her eyes on me all the same.

"It would be an honor if you'd allow me to continue Rachel's training." She hesitated before giving me a proud, approving smirk. It made my stomach churn with disgust.

"Very well, Q." she purred like an over fed cat, lowering her arm and handing me a leader whip. "Make sure you're stern with her, breaking her for the second time may prove to be more challenging than I'd first expected." She released the handle and walked towards the doors, the guards and two other cheerios following her out. I glanced around us, searching the shadows for anyone who may have been watching.

"Go ahead." She spat, startling me. "I'd like to see you try and crush my will."

I looked into the eyes of the battered woman I was in love with and saw the determination behind her words. I hesitated briefly before walking over to the crank and lowering her to her feet. She gasped with relief as the strain on her shoulder joints vanished and the pain began to ebb away. The determination was replaced by confusion as I walked back to her slowly, in case she had the thought to attack me.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, touching her battered skin carefully "I never wanted this for you. I just..." I closed my eyes for a moment and bowed my head. "I just wanted you back. I wanted you to come back to the cheerios and be with me again like you used to…"

"Why are you trying to save me now?"

"I overheard what Coach is planning to do to you next." I swallowed hard, squeezing my eyes shut against my revolution. "I can't let her succeed, no matter how much I want you, I can't let her hurt you like she's planning to."

Her eyes began to drift close as exhaustion swept through her. I was familiar with that feeling, as the pain ebbed, the body relaxed and the mind tells you that you need to rest. But I couldn't let her rest, not now. I needed her to be awake, to be able to move on her own. I grasped her face gently, using her battered state to wake her up.

"Rach," I shook her slightly as her lids began to fall again. "Rachel!"

She grunted, eyes opening again.

"I need you to trust me now more than ever. Can you do that?"

She stared at me for a moment, the drowsiness still shining in her eyes. She nodded and swallowed hard. I held on to the cuffs around her wrists, bashing the restraints open with the back of a gun I'd been carrying since this morning.

She fell forward limply, no longer having the ties holding her up. I caught her before she hit the ground and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, Rach." I hissed urgently, still holding her up "I need you to run, we don't have much time." She nodded again and swayed on her feet, but stood all the same.

I took her hand and pulled her towards the doors. I knocked a few times, hiding Rachel behind the wall, well out of their view. "Guards" the doors opened slowly and I waited, waited and waited impatiently for the moment to strike.

When the first one appeared I rammed my fist into his nose. A brilliant stream of bright, red blood shot from it as I brought my leg up and kicked her hard in the face, sending her to the ground with ease. I guess all those years training for gymnastics as a kid paid off.

The next cheerio, I smashed in the throat, she keeled over soundlessly to the floor. I placed my boot on her neck and twisted hard, feeling the crunch as it snapped under my force. With another strong blow, I knocked out the other one and turned back to Rachel, taking her hand again.

We slowly moved around the halls, careful not to make too much noise as we tried to get out. Rachel faltered a few times, making us stop in order to regain our speed.

"We're getting close." I whispered, turning back to her, pushing the stray strands of sweat drenched hair from her face.

Our journey hadn't been difficult in any sense, but her injuries made it far more difficult for her to move. Her body trembled slightly and I tried to steady her as best I could while keeping an eye out for anyone.

"You're risking everything." Rachel murmured, capturing my attention once again. "If you're caught, they'll kill you."

Her good eye was filled with what seemed like anger and confusion. I stroked her cheek gently, trying to make her understand with my touch that she meant more to me than I'd ever be able to put into words. Her eye searched my face for any tell as to my feelings.

"Some things are worth dying for." I said simply, checking our surroundings once again.

"You think I'm worth dying for?"

I blinked a few times but didn't turn back to her. A strict voice echoed through my mind, reminding me that love was a weakness, something that was below those who were strong enough not to feel, those who weren't supposed to feel.

Rachel had come to perfect that skill, learned how to turn her emotions on and off like a switch. But I knew she felt the way I did, that she cared about me as I did about her. I also knew that if she understood just how much I cared; she'd see it as a weakness too. After all, that's the way we'd been trained since we were kids. And that's how I tricked her into trusting me.

I manipulated her love for me.

Her emotions.

"I owe you more than my life, Rachel. That much I'm sure of."

She let the conversation go and instead peaked around slightly as I did.

"The others will be checking back on your status any moment now. After that, these halls will swarm with our Sisters and we won't make it far after that."

I turned back to Rachel, taking her hands gently in my own "I want you to promise me something." She didn't say anything, but held eye contact.

"When you get out of here, I want you to travel back home when you have the opportunity. I want you to find my mom and I want you to tell her I died long ago, a month or so after we were taken." She blinked slowly

"You want me to lie to your mother?" I felt my eyes sting with tears and I did my best to hide it.

"It's better than her knowing the truth."

I turned around and pulled her with me down the hall, holding her hand tightly. We didn't have time to slow down now. We rounded the corner and I smashed an unsuspecting cheerio hard across the face, snapping her head to the side and sending her falling limply to the ground.

We didn't stop moving as we pulled another corner. My lungs burned with the effort. But I knew I couldn't stop. If I were to stop, we'd both die. And all this would be for nothing.

For a fleeting moment, a horrible thought passed through my brain; maybe it would be better to die. Maybe it'd be more merciful on me to die instead of trying to understand what it was like to live a normal life.

I shook my head hard, trying to dislodge the thought. Rachel's life was worth more than mine. She had her friends, Puck and his merry band of misfits to return to. I had nothing.

No one would shed a tear if I died.

And so it should be.

"We're almost there, Rach, just hold on." I told her as we turned down another hallway.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

There, blocking the exit, stood Coach Sylvester, an army of my beloved ''sisters'' behind her, each armed and ready.

I felt Rachel's back press into my own and I glanced over my shoulder; another fleet of cheerios had pulled up behind us.

"I'm surprised, Q." She murmured "I never would've thought you for a turncoat…" she said in a patronizing tone, making me feel like a child caught lying.

"Did you really think it'd be that simple? That you could just take Rachel and get out?" her eyes hardened. "You killed your own, Q. That's not something I take lightly."

I slowly walked Rachel and I backwards, into another pathway. I knew this part of the fortress well, I knew where this path led, I knew what would happen should it need to be locked down.

The sound of clinking chains resounded through the empty air as the heavy iron bar barricade was being lowered. The controls for this door were in a room down the corridor.

"There's no way for you to escape, Q." The woman I had dedicated my life to assured me. "If you come peacefully, your death will be short, I promise." Her tone was light, as if it was no big deal.

"And what about Rachel? What will you do to her?"

She paused for a second.

"Berry will be re-broken. She'll be brought back to the one place she belongs and serve with her family once again."

I looked at each of the faces of the women behind her. Every single one of them filled with fury, hatred. All of them cold, all of them hostile.

I didn't know what a family was, but from what I'd heard, this was not it. How could I have thought this was what family was supposed to be? This was nothing more than a band of cursed murderers, trained from childhood to kill for a woman who found us expendable. I squeezed Rachel's hand gently.

"Do you trust me?" I asked her again, this time she responded without hesitation.

"Yes."

In a sudden, fast motion, I swept out Rachel's feet, sending her crashing to the ground. I shoved her under the closing door just seconds before it slammed into the ground, shaking the walls.

I was trapped now, of course, backed into a dead end with an entire army before me. But she was free. I whipped my gun through the air, through the bars and snapped the chain used to pull the door open again.

It would be a while before they could unblock the path, more than enough time for Rachel to make her escape.

"Quinn!" She cried as I pressed my back into the bars. "What have you done?"

"Run, Rachel!" I commanded, hearing the snarl of outrage coming from Coach Sylvester. She jabbed a finger at me.

"Get her!"

A tidal wave of red, white, and black surged forward towards me. I blocked the first blow and kicked her back into a couple others, causing them all to fall over each other, giving me more time to throw someone into the wall.

I grasped her ponytail and flung her at another rushing group. Soon enough though, there were just too many. A sharp blow to my ribs jarred me forward while a punch to the forehead threw me back.

I crashed against the bars, a fist smashed my forearm and a straight down hit on my head forced me on my hands and knees.

I heard Rachel's voice faintly scream out for me as a boot was pressed on the back of my neck, shoving me flat against the floor, face in the dirt. I knew that was it. Like I had done only a little while before, whoever had their foot on my neck was going to break it.

And then I'd burn in hell for all of eternity for all of the horrendous things I'd done. Oddly, I was fine with that. I'd served my purpose.

I got Rachel out safely.

"Keep her alive!" Coach Sylvester snapped, her voice harsher than before, her boot coming into my limited view. I felt my head throb like my brain was trying to escape my skull.

"We may have lost Rachel, but chances are Q will know where she's going." She pulled my chin out of the dirt to look at her. "Won't you?"

I stared into her eyes for a moment before spitting in her face. She kicked me hard across the cheek, sending my world spiraling into darkness.

How ironic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Rachel**

I didn't stop running until I reached the middle of the dense forest miles from the fortress. Tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes. My legs buckled, sending me crashing into the soft grass of the clearing. I stared up at the clear night sky, feeling the gentle, cool wind caress my battered skin. I heaved in a heavy, shaky breath, my eyes still spilling tears down my face. My body screamed with agony, I felt the bruised bones, torn skin and sprained joints. My bare feet were scraped from running, the skin ground with dirt and thorns.

I closed my eyes slowly, swallowing against the sick feeling in my stomach. Quinn's actions confused me. She was the one who put my life at risk and yet, she was the one to save it in the end. I knew she felt strongly for me. I knew she wanted to be with me.

I cared for her as well, but, if placed in her same position, I couldn't say I'd do for her what she did for me...

I opened my eyes slowly again, after the tears had stopped, gripping the blades of grass in my aching fingers. I exhaled heavily, looking up at the bright stars and brilliant moon. My head pounded, skin stung.

My heart felt heavy.

But why? I asked myself, narrowing my eyes with thought.

Quinn had made a choice. She wanted to give herself for me. Why else would she have pushed me through the door and sealed herself in? Her guilt and her love had been her weakness.

Just as my love had been mine. She betrayed me. She took everything we had together and threw it on the ground to serve the disgusting pig she called her leader. I bit back the bile that rose in my throat. So far as I was concerned, they deserved each other. I shouldn't feel anything for her, especially after our night together, all the things she told me.

That's when realization hit me like a club in the face.

She was trying to protect me. She was trying to give me a way out. She would have run from everything she knew to save me from the others, from Sue Sylvester and the Cheerios. I wouldn't be safe with even Puck. She wanted to get me out before Sue had a chance to find me again.

I squeezed my eyes shut again, a new type of pain slicing through the physical. She would've given it all up to be with me because I meant more to her than anything else. More than her home, her so called 'family' and 'leader'. She'd turn her back on everything. We could've disappeared from here before Mike and the others knew we'd left. But then why didn't she warn me of the ambush? She didn't try to save me then, what changed that she'd break me out? I don't know if it was the growing numbness of the run slowing my mind but I understood after a few moments.

If I wouldn't be with her of my own free will, she'd have me after I was re-broken. I sat up slowly, unsure of how I should feel. Betrayal, anger, sadness and the need for revenge waged with regret, guilt, gratitude and undying love. So, instead of thinking about it, I heaved myself weakly to my feet and continued my long, agonizing walk through the woods.

I don't know when I passed out, but the next thing I remember is waking up in the middle of a field, the faces of Brittany, Noah and Mike all staring down at me. I blinked a couple times, staring blankly at each of them, their mouths moving but the sound seemed to be just outside my range of hearing.

"Rach…" Noah's muffled voice reached my ears. "Rachel, are you alright?" I blinked again and pushed myself up, feeling all three sets of hands on my skin, holding me steady. I resisted the urge to throw them off, feeling irritation swelling in my battered body. Why I was so angry? Even I don't understand.

"How did you get away?" I heard Mike ask, noting the stiffness in my limbs. I didn't answer. I pushed myself to my feet and began walking.

"Where are you going?" Brittany called after me, I didn't turn back.

"I'm going to find decent clothing."

**Brittany**

"I'm worried." I said to Mike as we sat in our makeshift camp when night fell. Rachel refused to let me treat her wounds. She refused to eat and she refused to sit with us. She sat in the middle of the field we found her in, where we hadn't moved in a day or two, dressed in a dark outfit similar to the one she had left with. Mike nodded slowly in agreement. Rachel had always liked to be alone and not talk to anyone about her emotions but this silence was…stranger than usual. "If she'd at least eat something I'd feel better."

"She's been through a lot." Mike murmured, staring at the flames of the fire we'd built. "Have you seen the damage on her body?"

"No, maybe if she'd let me help her I would've." I looked back at Rachel; her back was to us, but I could tell her eyes were on the moon. She wouldn't tell us what happened. How she escaped. She seemed more disconnected than ever. I sighed as the feeling of helplessness spread through me. I stood up.

"Brittany…" Mike said cautiously, warning me that it would be best if I left her alone.

"She needs to talk about whatever it is that happened. If she doesn't it'll only make it worse." And with that, I walked across the field to the blonde. I hadn't even taken a breath to begin speaking when she spoke.

"Go away, Britt. I have nothing to say."

"You haven't said anything in days."

"Precisely." I hesitated for a moment before kneeling down beside her

"Listen, Rach, whatever happened in there, you can't not talk about it. It'll only destroy you." She paused for a moment, briefly, as if weighing her options. She looked at me and then back to the moon. Finally she caved.

"Quinn broke me out." She said softly and I was shocked.

"Didn't she get you locked up in the first place?"

"Yes." She breathed

"So, where is she now?"

"Sue captured her. She sacrificed herself to save me." She stood up, the expression on her face gave the impression that she didn't care.

"Well we have to go back for her." I said, standing up just as quickly as she did. She gave me a look I couldn't decipher and turned back towards the moon.

"There's no point." She muttered "They took her days ago; she's either dead or dying by now. And besides," she tightened the gloves covering her hands, her brown eyes probing the long grass "she was an idiot. We're taught not to give ourselves for others. No matter the circumstances. What she did she did out of pure emotion. A fool's mistake."

"Rach…" I said, my mind empty of responses. Was she truly that heartless? Could she turn her back on the woman who gave everything to save her? "Quinn—"

"Quinn was a fool!" She snapped, harsher than she had to "she knew the risk and yet she took it anyway!"

I felt like I had whiplash. One moment Rachel was void of emotion, the next she was over flowing with it. It was like she couldn't control it. I swallowed hard, realizing what was going on, and tried not to sound too amazed. It was so obvious!

"You loved her, didn't you? And she loved you which is why—"

"Why don't you mind your own business?" she barked, now grabbing the attention of the other two at the fire. "I didn't ask you for your psycho analyses. Quinn made her decision. Now she has to live with it."

I grabbed her arm as she went to walk away, pulling her back to me with a stern look on my face. Where my sudden anger came from, I don't know. All I knew is that I was tired of Rachel acting like she didn't care.

"We're going back to the fortress to save the boy, while we're there we'll get Quinn too." She ripped her arm free, a look of shear anger shone in her eyes.

"If there's time." And with that she turned away from me and walked towards the camp.

**Quinn**

"That little stunt you pulled was clever, I'll give you that much."

I couldn't help but chuckle, no humour of course. Just that the black eye I gave Coach Sylvester made her look pathetic. She'd turned her back on me earlier, gloating about how she was going to skin Rachel's friends alive and I broke the rusted chain that suspended me from the roof, whipping it around so it would smash her cleanly in the face. It worked, of course, but now they'd decided to place a young boy who had helped Puck in the same room I was in, make him watch me suffer until he gave up the information about where the group was.

They didn't want to break me anymore, they just wanted as much information as they could get before the torture destroyed me completely. So they resorted to more...outdated methods. They re-suspended me, this time using thicker chains wrapped in barbed wire so I couldn't touch them without hurting myself, and restrained my ankles as well. As they stabbed the hot poker into my skin, I did what I was trained to do; I separated my mind. I placed all physical feelings into the back of my head and pulled forward the good memories, the ones I held most dear.

As the smoke rose from my seared flesh, I remembered how Rachel had held my hand when we were being beaten as little girls, how just her alone had made the pain feel a thousand miles away. How we held each other all through the night, helping to keep the nightmares away. How much she still looked like that little girl today. I saw her face in my mind and smiled. As long as she was with me, in memory or otherwise, I could take the beatings and the pain until my heart stopped beating.

"But…" Coach Sylvester interrupted my thoughts, pulling a long, nail off the small table. I felt the boy's eyes watching me and could sense his fear.

She held the iron piece up to the light and then back to me. "I think it's only fair that I do to you what you do to me." She walked forward, holding the spike up to my face "an eye for an eye and all that." As she pressed the tip against my bottom eyelid, it became clear to me.

No memory of Rachel could save me from this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Rachel**

We entered the fortress quickly, immobilizing the guards with ease. I was in a strange mood. I was hurried, rushed to find the boy and get out, but at the same time worried. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to get out the second I stepped in the door. But Brittany's impatient presence forced me forward.

"Do you know which way we're supposed to go?" she asked, glancing around the dark tunnels cautiously, as if an ambush might over take us at any moment.

"Cut me some slack." I snapped in response, a knee jerk reaction to pressure. "I was barely conscious when I got out. The details are a little fuzzy." I grabbed the braid of a young Cheerio and pulled her back into the shadows. My hand clamped over her mouth, knife hovering just under her chin. "Scream and I'll kill you here." I hissed in her ear.

"What are you doing?" Mike gasped and I shushed him.

"Understand?" I asked the girl and she nodded after a moment. "The boy being held here, where is he?" she muffled her answer against my hand. I didn't pull it away. "Point!" I snarled. She stabbed her finger towards the east hallway.

"And Quinn," Brittany said from behind me.

I had half the mind to turn around and beat the life out of her. Instead, I stayed still, part of me wanting to know where she was too.

"Where did they take her?" T

The child pointed her finger in the same direction.

"What?" Noah said, sounding just as confused as I was. "How is that possible? Sue would never be stupid enough to leave them both in the same place. She knows well enough what could happen if you leave two prisoners in the same area together."

I turned back to the girl, squeezing threateningly over her mouth before releasing it.

"Explain." I commanded in a fierce whisper, ensuring I had a tight grip on both her hair and my weapon. She swallowed hard once before whispering back

"Coach Sylvester was going to torture the boy to find out where you and the group were heading next. But, before she could leave the torture cell, she attacked she, breaking free of the chains and damaging the Coach's face. In retaliation, she put Quinn and the boy in the same cell, hoping that by harming her, she could get him to talk."

I felt my eyes go wide. Quinn went after Sue Sylvester? To protect a boy? I shook my head; it was as if the entire world had been flipped upside down.

"Has it worked?" I demanded and she shook her head vigorously, her muscles tensing with fear as I pulled harder on the braid.

"She doesn't show an ounce of pain nor does she allow for the boy to speak." She whimpered, her arms moving as if to reach for the hair wrapped around my hand.

"We need to find them." Noah said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Let her go, we need to get moving."

Hesitantly, I pulled the knife away from her throat then smashed my arm against the back of her neck. She fell forward limply and I caught her before she hit the ground, laying her carefully in the shadows, well out of the way of any through traffic. I turned to see both Mike and Brittany's mortified expressions.

"She would've told them we were here." I said simply with a shrug and began creeping down the corridor. They only waited a moment before following.

I found the cell easily, broke open the lock and shoved the door open. The young boy was sitting in the corner, seemingly unharmed, if not traumatized. He stared straight forward.

"Hey!" I kneeled by his side, trying to snap him out of whatever daze he was in. "Listen, we need to get you out of here before someone finds us!" He didn't move. I stopped myself from slapping him and instead listened to the lost murmurs he breathed absently.

"I…Sue just…she took it from her…still she didn't cry…there was no end…the blood…God, the blood…I promised her anything…Sue said it was too late…and then it was gone…and still she told me…still she said…'be silent'…" my blood ran cold, turned to ice in my veins. His voice was weak, void of all emotion, all feeling. "She just took it from her…" he began again, like his thoughts were stuck on a continuous loop.

I looked back to where his eyes stared blankly behind me. On the floor was a puddle of half-congealed crimson goo. Above it were blood soaked chains, wrapped in jagged wire. I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat and shook my head. I grasped the boy's head in my hands and shook him hard.

"Wake up!" he didn't acknowledge me. "HEY!" his eyes focused in on me and closed a couple times.

"Rachel…?"

"Where is she? Where did Sue take Quinn?" he blinked a few more times "WHERE?"

"She thought he couldn't get more out of me, so she took her out of here…said something about wanting to finish the job in a place better suited…a place she thought she could do the most damage to her…"

I knew instantly where he'd gone with her and stood. I shoved past Brittany, Mike and Puck, my mind set on one goal.

I needed to know she wasn't dead.

"Where are you going?" Noah called after me. I pulled my weapons from their holsters

"I'm going to kill Sue Sylvester."

**Quinn**

The whip cracked against my skin, tearing at the flesh and sending more of the red stuff down my body. The strange thought passed through me, shouldn't I have run out by now? A large pool had formed on the floor, my reflection vibrating. I stopped wincing now. There was no point anymore. I felt nothing, I saw nothing. Nothing but the memories I'd played in my mind time and time again. Her dark hair, her brown eyes glistening in the sunset we watched after we had spent the night together for the first time. How I held her, how she leaned into me, the back of her head resting on my shoulder, my cheek against hers. How her smell suddenly became my favorite.

I could've smiled.

This is what I'd been reduced to. Something without life, without reason or ability, that lived off memories from another lifetime. On the bright side, the torture would end soon. My dislocated shoulder throbbed with pressure, but no pain. I didn't even try to take the strain off of it. I would be fed to the animals anyway; they didn't care how damaged their meal was. I felt Coach Sylvester's hand touch my face, run over the hardened blood and I heard her chuckle. She said something before the door swung open and slammed again. This was the room I'd gotten my first beating in, without Rachel. This room held so many terrible memories for me, so many traumatic events that shaped me into what I was. It seemed almost poetic that I should die here too.

It couldn't have been more than half an hour later that the door creaked open again, light footsteps echoed on the ground.

**Rachel**

When I saw Quinn's condition, how many burns, how many cuts and bruises decorated her once flawless skin…it made my stomach squeeze. I walked over to her slowly and reached for her face, she appeared to be asleep. I touched the left side of her face and she jerked away from my hand, turning the shadowed part of her face into the light. Even I felt like throwing up.

I understood now what the boy had been rambling on about earlier. Down the left side of Quinn's face, a thick streak of dried blood covered her entire cheek, encrusting the lid closed. My legs felt weak, bile rose in my throat so quickly I had no choice but to keel over and empty my stomach. The others entered as I dry heaved for the second time, my stomach muscles clenching painfully and sweat forming on my forehead. Everyone gasped, the boy hung his head in regret.

She'd taken her eye.

I shoved myself to my feet and smashed my fists into the chains holding her up, desperately trying to get her down.

"There's no point." She croaked wearily. I moved back in front of her, cupping her face carefully in my hands. Her one eye opened just barely, searching my face closely. "I thought I told you to run…" she said, her eye dropping closed again.

"You should know by now I'm never one to listen to what you say." I grunted, still hammering away at the cuffs. A tiny smile pushed at her lips.

"How is the little guy?" she asked, swallowing compulsively.

"Alive and okay." He said in a tired voice "all thanks to you."

Her hair was shorter, I realised, awkwardly cut as if it had been a simple hack with a sword.

I didn't doubt it had been.

I pushed away the hair from her face, stopping my assault on her cuff and trying to see how badly she was hurt.

"Oh my God…" Brittany gasped as I revealed a long, gash running along the side of her face, just below the hair line. Quinn bowed her head, as if she could hide the broken ribs, torn skin and missing eye by ducking, finally realizing we weren't alone. I started pounding on the cuffs again, praying that they'd break eventually, muttering curses under my breath.

"Don't just stand there!" I snapped, whirling on the people behind me, standing there apparently stupefied. They all leapt into action and I turned back to Quinn.

"Don't." She panted "You don't have much time and I'll only slow you down."

"I'm not leaving you again."

"Please, Rach." She said, begging me with her eye "you can't get caught. She'll do the same to you. I can't let that happen."

"Would you just stop being a martyr?" I snarled, met by an equally defiant eye. "I love you, you moronic girl! I'm not leaving you behind. So you can kick and scream and fight as much as you want but you're coming with us."

I carefully wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head against her chest and lifted. She rose enough that her arm restraints slackened, but the ones around her ankles tightened. She moaned with relief and pain, her legs able to move just enough that she could hitch her knees on my hips, making it far easier to hold her up.

"She'll pay for what she's done." I whispered in her ear, feeling her short, shaggy hair tickle my neck "I promise you." I promised myself.

She nodded slowly, sniffling and whimpering into my skin, her strong exterior finally crumbling. I buried my face in her neck, felt her warm skin and her comforting scent surround me. I gently swayed with her like you would a child, trying to calm her. The pain consumed me more than her.

By the time they were able to release her dislocated arm, Brittany carefully wrapping it around my shoulders, the door to the cell pushed open and there she stood. The woman who'd done this to Quinn. The one who tortured her and used her against me. As much as I would've liked to pound her into minced meat, letting go of Quinn now could dislocate her opposite shoulder as well.

So, instead, I stood there, holding the woman I was in love with, but never taking my eyes from Sue Sylvester. Everyone stopped. Everyone stared at her, each with a hostile look plastered on their face.

"What a pleasant surprise" she said, mock joy staining her voice like ink. "The whole gang came for a visit."

"You sick bastard." Snarled Noah, stepping forward, his anger coming from him in waves. "I didn't think even _you_ were capable of doing this to another human being."

Mike placed the tip of his sword under Sue's chin, backing her up a few steps.

"I'll cut that head off your shoulders."

"Ooh, touchy are we, dear China."

I held Quinn to me tighter, nodding at the boy to continue getting the locks off. Brittany drew her weapon, standing only a few feet from us, extra protection. The ankle and remaining arm cuff were off finally, allowing Quinn to set her feet back on the ground. She whimpered, her ankles were raw, chafed from the tight iron restraints. I slowly kneeled down with her in my arms, resting her on the floor.

"Looks like you've met a bit of resistance from your newest prisoner." Noah said, mentioning the dark circle around Sue's eye. I could feel her glaring at Quinn, sending her a sideways glance.

"Yes well, I seem to have gotten my revenge, now haven't I?" Mike went to drive the hilt of his sword into Sue's nose and I stopped him and threw him backwards. All three of my companions, other than Quinn, looked at me, flabbergasted. Sue laughed.

"My, my, Berry." She purred. "Finally come to our senses have we?" I grabbed his throat and squeezed. The veins in her forehead bulged as she clawed at my hand feebly. The sudden, all consuming rage that filled me turned my vision red.

My body wanted her dead more than it wanted air to breathe. My blood screamed for hers and my muscles ached with the exertion.

I didn't just want it. I needed it. I needed to feel her pulse slow and stop, to feel her wind pipe collapse under my fingers, to see her eyes beg me for her life and then deny it.

She dropped to her knees before me, no one had moved to stop me. I grabbed the dagger from her belt, looking at the razor sharp edge, admiring the way it glowed in the light of the fire. I heard my name being called from somewhere but I ignored it. I touched the tip of it to her forehead, twisting it gently.

"You killed my son years ago." I murmured, staring her straight in the eyes, seeing her fear…her anger and relishing every second. "You used the person I love against me and then tortured her, gouged out her eye." I pressed the length of the blade against the side of her face. "And now…" I dug it in suddenly, drawing a fresh line of bright crimson. She grunted and twitched as the line rolled down her face. "Now I kill you."

I brought back the blade across my body, fully intending to drive it into the side of her head. Instead, a strong hand grabbed my shoulder, yanking me away. I managed, instead, to slice a clean cut diagonally across her face, from hair line to jaw. She howled with pain and I turned around, coming face to face with Noah.

"Mike! Get us out of here!" He snapped. Quinn was leaning up against Brittany, her arms wrapped carefully around Quinn's body. I turned back to where Sue lay on the ground and howled with outrage.

"NO!" and when I blinked, we were back in the field by our campsite.

The overwhelming mixture of anguish and anger surged through me. I stood there frozen for a few moments. Then, without warning, I whirled around and smashed my fist into his forehead, knocking him down into the grass. "What have you done!" I snarled, pursuing him as he scrambled backwards. Brittany and Mike stopped me from moving forward.

"I HAD HER! She was going to die by my hands and you…" I narrowed my eyes. "You saved her!" I lunged again, only to be just barely held back.

"We had to leave Rach!" He yelled, begging me to understand "The Cheerios were coming!"

"You idiotic coward!" I didn't mean to take it out on Noah, really. I was furious and hurt and I just wanted someone to suffer, anyone at all. Noah was the one who'd angered me last, so he was the one to pay. "I'd rather have died than—" I heard a whimper and froze. My eyes locked on where Quinn lay, her body crumpled on the earth.

Instantly, the anger I felt diminished and worry and fear took over. Quickly, I was at her side, lifting her into my lap.

"Quinn?" I whispered, dabbing gently at her face with my finger tips.

"Hi..." she breathed, staring up at me with adoration. I felt my eyes begin to tear but made no attempt at wiping them away.

"Hi..." the world seemed to fall away from us, like we were the only two people left in the world. I ran my fingers along her hairline.

"I look atrocious, don't I?" she asked weakly, strangely self-conscious and I couldn't help but smile.

"You look beautiful…" I told her softly, holding her steady as a racking cough shook her entire body. Blood trickled out the corner of her full lips. Opened her eye, now pouring with tears and reach up towards me with a shaky battered hand. ''You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met.'' I grasped it gently and pressed it to my face. "You could never look atrocious." I whispered, feeling the tears begin to fall. "Never."

"Y-you know I only wanted what was best for you, right? I only wanted to help you…I only wanted to make everything better…"

"Shhh" I hushed her, cradling her head against my stomach, removing my hardened leather gloves and brushing away her tears. "I know, Quinn, I know."

"I love you Rachel…" My heart cracked in my chest, so loud I was sure that someone other than me could've heard it. I tried so hard to pretend that I could just not love Quinn. Like I could flip my feelings on and off like a switch. Going to rescue that boy had been my own excuse to rescue Quinn. My own way to tell myself that I didn't need her in my life now that I had the others.

How could I have been so stupid?

"I love you, too, Quinn" I whispered, kissing her lips gently. "I always will."

Her hand fell from my face and held my own for a moment, her eye drifting slowly closed.

"Quinn?" She didn't respond

"Quinn!" Her lid rose for a moment before half-closing again. "Quinn, you have to stay awake, okay? You can't rest."

"I have to…" she whispered, swallowing convulsively, her breaths shallow and uneven. An agonized expression twisted her features and forced more tears from her eyes "I can't…"

I pulled her up, taking advantage of the fact that it'd cause her pain. I needed her to stay awake.

"Look," I begged, pulling at the various strings that held my outfit in place. "Quinn, look!" I said, pulling down part of the black leather that covered my chest, revealing the smooth, tan skin that lay underneath. Her eye locked onto the contrasting color and she sobbed, pressing her face into my chest.

"Oh, Rach…"

"Do you know what this means?" I asked, knowing she knew the answer. "I'm promising you forever Quinn, I'm promising you that I'll be here every day with you." My voice began to crack. "But it only works if you're here with me too."

I cupped her face gently in my hands. "So you have to stay awake, because I don't know what I'll do if I lose you again. You need to live. If you leave me now…after everything we've been through…after how much you showed me I could be…I don't know what I'll do." She didn't respond and I kissed her again, trying desperately to make her realize just how much of a fool I'd been. My tears mingled with hers. "I could never love another as I love you." She stopped moving, stopped breathing. I heard Brittany sniffle and Mike kiss her hand. Noah sighed remorsefully. I felt nothing. Numb.

She couldn't be gone.

"Quinn." I said desperately. She didn't move. "QUINN!" I laid her on the ground, straddling her waist, cupping her face in my hands. "Quinn, wake up!"

I was blinded by my tears, my mind fogged with grief. Someone called my name, I didn't know who. I didn't care.

"Quinn, don't you dare leave me! Not now! Not after everything!" I opened her mouth and blew, rhythmically pounding my hands against her chest. She was alive, I could feel it. I felt it with my soul, my heart, my entire being. The woman I loved was alive. I just needed her to breathe.

"Please, Quinn…" I begged her, sobbing brokenly into her battered skin. "Please breathe…"


End file.
